ChronoGenesis
by Matt Briddell
Summary: A new mutant story. Glen Hilliard is about to meet somebody very special and discover something incredible and terrifying about himself. Last two chapters are posted! Please r+r. Enjoy!
1. Encounter

Ch. 2  
  
A thick cloud of steam greeted Sam when he entered the locker room. He wanted to find Glen and ask him if he was all right after his fall, but the steam made seeing anything nearly impossible. After a few moments of squinting through the steam, he saw the outline of Glen's body and walked up behind him. As he got closer he could see that Glen was wearing a towel and nothing more. There was a large mirror, surprisingly clear, in front of the bench that Glen was sitting on. Sam stared at Glen's reflection in the mirror, gazing at his smooth chest.  
  
  
  
Glen was thinking about his jump, and also about Lance. He was happy that the coach had decided to bust Lance a bit; it seemed like strange things seemed to happen whenever he was around. And he certainly was tired of Lance's constant harassment. It seemed like the only word he heard from Lance was "faggot". That had started a year ago when Lance first arrived at Bayville. Glen had thought that Lance was kinda hot then, but had since learned to stay away from him. He had made the mistake of saying hello to Lance on his first day, and still remembered the first words that Lance had said to him when asked about how he was liking Bayville, "Do I LOOK like I want to be here, you little faggot?" Needless to say, their relationship had been pretty hostile since that day.  
  
It had been Lance's calling him a faggot that had surprised him the most. He was gay, but he didn't really show it. He wasn't really effeminate or anything like that, just slightly flashy. Perhaps it was because he was almost always smiling.  
  
As he was thinking, his eyes wandered up to the mirror. He noticed a boy standing behind him, looking at his reflection in the mirror, his mouth slightly open. "Who's he?" Glen thought. "Maybe he's new,"  
  
  
  
Sam saw Glen's reflection look up at him. "Oh no," he thought, "he saw me looking at him!" He quickly averted his eyes, but held his position behind Glen.  
  
Glen saw the boy look away sheepishly and continued to eye his reflection. "He looks cute!" He thought to himself. A few seconds later, he saw the boy look back at him again. This time, their gazes held. "Wow, he's checking me out! Hmm. Why not have a little fun?" He stood up, still facing the mirror, and let his towel drop just slightly below his waist, exposing the curve of his butt slightly.  
  
Sam continued to stare, and when Glen let his towel down, Sam's eyes lit up. He stared, enraptured, totally forgetting about the mirror. He was so enthralled that he didn't notice Glen turn around.  
  
  
  
"Hi there," Glen said.  
  
Sam looked up and felt his cheeks go red. "Um, hi," he managed to get out, slowly walking backward.  
  
"Hey, you can relax. I don't mind people looking at me." Glen said, a slight grin on his face.  
  
Sam stopped walking backwards. "You don't?" I thought that, um, I mean,"  
  
Glen realized what he was asking. "That since I'm gay I wouldn't want people staring at me. Like I said, I don't mind at all. Besides, at least somebody finds me attractive"  
  
Sam blushed and looked down. "Oh no," he thought, "he knows!" "Um, I think I need to go,"  
  
Glen immediately put 2 and 2 together. He reached out and put his hand on Sam's shoulder. "Hey, wait a minute. If you do think I'm attractive, it's no problem. It's certainly nothing to be ashamed about!"  
  
Sam looked back at him, awkwardly. After a hesitation, he said softly, "It's just that I've never told anybody before. Not even my parents. And I don't think I could deal with people knowing," "I see," Glen replied. "Look, do you have lunch next?" "Yeah," said Sam. "Well, why don't we eat together and we can talk some more," "Ok," said Sam, a bit more relieved than he had been when he first started talking to Glen. "I'll meet you outside in a few minutes and we can walk up together," With that, he turned back to the shower and again let the towel drop. This time, it didn't stop until it hit the floor. Glen caught one quick glance in the mirror of Sam's face as his eyes lit up like a Christmas tree again before the steam made vision impossible. 


	2. Beginnings

Ch. 1  
  
Glen Hilliard stared down the narrow strip of carpeting that lay between himself and the pommel horse about 25 feet away. He focused on his aerial technique, a straight double rotation, concentrating on the technique needed to rotate his body in mid-air and still execute a flawless landing. Taking a deep breath, he crouched into his stance and took off running. When he was only a few steps away, he leaned forward and jumped, hitting the small jump block at just the right spot. This was the part of jumping he always enjoyed the most, the suspense in the first few moments of the jump when it seemed that success or failure hung on a razor's edge, that one small twitch of his body could totally throw off his balance at a critical time and ruin the jump. He took off from the box, feeling his body rotate forward completely around the axis of his spine until his head was directly perpendicular with the ground. His fingertips just barely grazed the top of the horse, giving him that last bit of momentum he would need to get himself around. Around he went, the world rotating in his view. As he did, he could sense things start to slow down and distort as he approached the apex of his jump, one full revolution now complete. He hit the apex and began to descend, again leaning himself forward, starting on the second rotation. He could see the ground rushing towards him as he continued to go around, bringing his legs closer back to the ground, and then felt the thud as his feet hit the floor. He crouched into the landing and then stood erect and beaming, completing a successful jump.  
  
He heard some scattered applause from the direction of the bench. He looked to see the gym coach smiling at him. "Good jump, Hilliard", said the coach. "Take a breather for a couple minutes and then try another one," "Sure thing, Mr. Langley," Glen replied. Mr. Langley was the coach of the gymnastics team. For two years, Glen had been trying unsuccessfully to make the team. He had come close last year, but the last few spots had wound up going to upper-classmen instead. Glen figured that since he was an upper- classmen himself, he'd have a much better shot this time around. Mr. Langley was doing the gymnastics unit in PE at the beginning of the year in order to fill the team up sooner. As he put it, "The sooner we get the team together, the sooner we can train together and work towards beating the competition," Even though Mr. Langley was pretty much a typical jock, Glen liked his strategy of getting a leg up on the competition early. He pulled his shirt out of his shorts and wiped his brow before returning to the other end of the runway.  
  
Glen's jump had also attracted some attention from the other side of the room where some other boys were sitting in the other bleachers. These were mostly the football guys, who due to their size weren't exactly suited for gymnastics, and who couldn't care about tumbling, swinging, and jumping much anyways. In fact, aside from about 4 other people, Glen had the floor pretty much to himself.  
  
  
  
About 5 rows up, Lance Alvers sat watching, bored as usual. "Why am I even wasting my time here," he thought to himself, "When I could be hanging out with the Brotherhood or maybe trying to get together with Kitty again," Next to him sat one of his Brotherhood friends, Pietro. Pietro brushed a few strands of his silvery hair out of his eyes and staved off a yawn. Lance glared down at the coach and the people on the floor. "Man, if it wasn't for those idiots we could probably just leave," he muttered to Pietro. "No kidding. " replied Pietro. "Look at 'em, they're only doing this because these guys suck at every other sport, and the coaches figured they might as well find something for 'em to do," "Yeah," said Lance, sneering. "Look down there at that little faggot," he said, leaning over to Pietro and pointing down at Glen. "Thinks he's so special now that he can do something we can't," Pietro nodded in silent agreement. Suddenly they heard a small voice from behind them. "He looked pretty good to me," it said. Lance turned around to see where the annoyance had come from, and found the source, a smallish boy sitting a couple rows off. Lance looked over to see Sam staring down in wonder at Glen as he wiped his forehead off, showing off his bare chest momentarily. "I'll bet you did. You two look like you'd be perfect for each other!" "Yeah," chimed in Pietro. "Don't you know, he's a total fag! And a big loser, too. You'd go great with him," he said, sniggering. "I didn't know he was gay," Sam said. "Duh! Everybody knows!" Pietro said to him. Lance just grinned maliciously and continued to stare down at Glen, a plan coming to his head. Sam got up and moved to another part of the bleachers, a bit saddened at being harassed, but also a bit intrigued about Glen. "He is cute, he thought, and I could certainly use a friend to help me survive getting used to this place," He made up his mind to try and approach Glen after gym.  
  
  
  
Glen ran his hand through his short, curly hair while thinking of what to do for his next jump. He knew a couple tricks that would really turn the heads of the coaches, but they were pretty risky and he didn't want to take the chance of getting injured before the season started. He finally settled on a jump, a reverse corkscrew spin, and began to set his mind to the task of the jump. As he was getting ready, he felt the gym start to shake a bit. "Great," he thought. "Another tremor. I guess they'll probably cancel class now," He turned around and stared at the wall glumly. He had been really hoping to make an impression on the coaches. What he didn't see was Lance up in the bleachers, his fist clenched into a tight ball and an intense look of concentration on his face. "Now!" he whispered to Pietro. Pietro stood up and sprinted down to the floor, using his own powers of speed. While doing this, Lance increased the intensity of his concentration a bit more, making the tremor a bit stronger, which would serve to distract attention from Pietro's actions. While Lance was making the room shake, Pietro pulled one of the supports askew on the pommel horse just enough so that when Glen hit it, it would tip over, off-balance. His prank complete, he dashed back up to his seat next to Lance, who relaxed, the tremor stopping. The whole exchange had lasted less than 8 seconds. "Watch this!" Lance said, leering.  
  
  
  
Glen tried to shake off the tremor. These things had been happening for months now, but he knew that he really wasn't in any danger. There were no fault lines around the Bayville area, according to seismic charts, although people took comfort in the fact that the tremors were somewhat uncommon and never caused any kind of damage. He settled back into his focusing, and when he was ready, took off down the runway.  
  
  
  
Sam had been too busy and too far away to notice Pietro's prank. But looking at it now, he got the impression that something wasn't quite right. He thought that one of the legs looked a little funny, like it had been knocked off its support. He continued to gaze, concerned. Too late, he realized what was wrong, but could not even shout a warning, and could only watch, mouth agape, as events unfolded.  
  
  
  
Glen hit the jump box and sprung into his jump. In order to do this, he would have to push off hard from the horse and spin completely around before starting his rotations. He felt the same sense of things slowing down he did before as his hands hit the horse. When his fingers began to press against the horse, he could tell something was wrong. He didn't feel the same counter-pressure he had felt with the last jump. He tried to push harder, but felt only less resistance. He realized that the leg of the horse must have come unbalanced, but at this point, in mid-air, he was powerless to do anything about it except hope that he landed right.  
  
The horse tipped over with a loud crash. The thud of Glen's body hitting the mat a moment later followed it up. Glen landed on his back and rolled into an awkward ball on the mat. Disorientated, he could not get up immediately, and sat on the floor while the world began to spin itself back into some semblance of order. He heard laughter from the bleachers, and he heard Lance call out, "Nice move, fag!" He slumped farther down, dejected, knowing that he had probably blown his chance at making the team for yet another year.  
  
"All right, that's enough," called out Langley. "Class, hit the showers. Alvers, you can help me put this thing back together." "Oh, man!" groaned Lance.  
  
Glen staggered to his feet and began to head for the showers. Sam, watching him slowly walk off the floor, got up and followed him into the locker room. 


	3. Connection

Ch. 3  
  
Glen had bought lunch for the both of them and found a secluded table outside. Sam asked the first question, "How can you put up with that Alvers guy calling you those names all the time?"  
  
"Well, he's usually the only one that bugs me about being gay. There are a few other people, but just about everybody else here is pretty cool. Also, you're about the only person I'VE actually told, too,"  
  
"Really?" Sam asked. "Then how does everybody else know?"  
  
"Well, some of them actually don't, either because they're too blind or they don't want to admit it to themselves. I basically just act like everybody already knows that I'm gay anyways. That way there's really no need for me to actually disclose anything."  
  
"And that works?" asked Sam.  
  
"Very well, actually. I've had a lot of people tell me that they admire the self-confidence I have. And I've still had a few girls come up and ask me for dates, even though they know," he said with a small chuckle. "But I'll tell you who's really been understanding. Look over there," he said, pointing to another table where a girl with red hair was sitting next to a guy with red sunglasses. "Her name's Jean. She told me something a while ago that really made a difference," "What was that," Sam asked. "Well, there's actually a bit of a story behind it. See the guy next to her with the shades? That's Scott Summers, her boyfriend. I actually had a bit of a crush on him a while ago. He found out, and well, he freaked out a bit."  
  
"I guess she wasn't too thrilled to find out that somebody else had eyes for her boyfriend," said Sam with a grin.  
  
"Not exactly, no. And this was back when I was starting to realize that I was gay, feeling all confused and everything. First she apologized for Scott. Then she told me that it shouldn't matter that I was gay, she still thought I was a good person. She was actually the first person to tell me that. That really helped a lot. And the last thing she said was that I shouldn't let other people tell me what's right when it comes to love."  
  
"Wow, that really makes a lot of sense," said Sam, staring into Glen's eyes again.  
  
"I know. The funny thing was that she said exactly what I had been thinking, almost like she could read my mind,"  
  
"Yeah," said Sam, continuing to gaze.  
  
"Anyway," said Glen, "that's what I've done since then. You know how some people say that gays are evil?"  
  
"Oh yeah," said Sam, breaking his gaze for a moment. "My uncle's pretty religious, and so is a lot of my family, actually," He went back to staring at Glen.  
  
"Well, I just refuse to play along. I refuse to accept that I'm a bad person just because I'm attracted to a guy, and I refuse to feel any kind of shame or guilt that they say that I should!" Glen said, his voice rising a bit at the end in excitation.  
  
"That is so amazing," thought Sam, his eyes still locked onto Glen's.  
  
Glen noticed Sam gazing at him again. He started to open his mouth, to ask, "What are you looking at?" but instead only gazed back at Sam silently. He felt his head slowly start to move closer to the other side of the table, the visual connection between them growing. "I think I can really help this kid," he thought. Sam also began to lean forward, his eyes shooting laser beams into Glen's. "He knows so much and he's so friendly, I can't believe I've met somebody like this!" They were now just inches away from each other, and neither of them had yet to blink.  
  
Suddenly, the bell rang, shattering the connection between the two boys.  
  
"Ack, the bell," Glen muttered. "Guess we gotta go,"  
  
"Yeah," muttered Sam, pining for the moment that had just been destroyed. "What other classes do you have later today?"  
  
"Latin, then History," Glen replied.  
  
"Hey, I think we're in the same History class. I'll see you then!" Sam said, beaming, and rushed off from the table with a spring in his step.  
  
Glen sat there for a minute, watching him go, reflecting on the connection they had just shared and what could have been. 


	4. Discovery

Chapter 4  
  
Note: The Author recommends listening to a recording of Jan Garbarek's "Parce Mihi Domine" while reading the second half of this chapter. Good "mood music".  
  
Sam sat in his English class, gazing at the clock. He couldn't wait to see Glen again! Finally, the bell rang, and he got up and went out into the hall. He stopped by his locker to get his books, and turned around to see Lance and Pietro staring down at him. "Well, look who we've got here!" grinned Lance wickedly. "Couldn't help noticing you and the fag together at lunch today." "You made a bee-ute-iful couple!" Pietro chimed in. "What do you want?" Sam asked, trembling. "Oh, nothing," Lance said. "Just wanted to see how Bayville's newest couple was getting along. So which one's the girl, him or you?" He and Pietro both burst out laughing. Sam blushed, but then remembered what Glen had said to him a little while ago. "Don't let them make you feel ashamed." Sam screwed up his courage and looked Lance straight in the eye. "So am I supposed to feel ashamed or something, Alvers?" The ploy worked. Lance and Pietro stopped laughing, caught totally off guard. Before Lance could reply, he felt a hand grasp his shoulder roughly. "What are you doing, Lance?" It was Glen. "Just helping the new guy remember where his room is," Lance said, still a bit shaken. "Well, since I actually GO here on a full time basis, why don't you let ME play tour guide?" Glen said. "C'mon," he said, nudging Lance aside so Sam could get through. "Thanks," said Sam. "He is SUCH a jerk," "Yeah," replied Glen. "But he's pretty harmless really. People like Lance Alvers are really pretty powerless to hurt other people, so they try and intimidate them and make them think that they can hurt them," "Why do that at all?" asked Sam. "Because they're afraid. Afraid that someday somebody will call their bluff and stand up to them, like you did, and realize just how puny they really are. Good job," said Glen, putting an arm around Sam's shoulder and giving him a playful squeeze. "Now let's get going, we don't want to be late,"  
  
  
  
All through class, Glen and Sam kept playing eyeball tag, like they had done in the gym. Sam found himself growing more and more infatuated with Glen as the class went on. Glen found himself starting to feel the same way, still admirous of how Sam had stood up to Lance like that. He caught Sam's eyes again, then grinned and nodded his head to the front of the room. Sam looked back, puzzled. "Mr. Smith, can you answer this?" Sam about jumped out of his seat, his heart pounding, as the teacher called on him. "Oh, um, yeah. 1812, that was when Napoleon tried to conquer Russia." "Very good," said the teacher, and went back to his lesson. Sam breathed deeply, trying to slow his heart down. Glen just looked over and winked at him. Sam grinned back fondly.  
  
  
  
Sam followed Glen back to his locker after class let out. "That was a nasty trick you pulled," he grinned. "Yeah, but it got your attention, didn't it? I thought you were gonna jump through the ceiling when the teacher called on you!" "Yeah, yeah,", Sam said, playfully punching Glen in the elbow. "Ouch, my arm! Now how will I make the gym team?" Glen said, laughing. Sam joined in the laughter with him. "Hey, do you wanna come to my house and study for a bit?" Glen asked Sam. The teacher was giving them a test tomorrow. "Sure!" said Sam. They went out to the student lot, got in Glen's car and drove off.  
  
  
  
"Will your parents be home?" Sam asked. "Probably not," Glen said. "My mom works pretty late, and I have no idea where my step-dad will be." "Your parents are divorced?" "No, my dad died and this guy kinda moved in," Glen said. "I'm sorry," Sam said. "Thanks," said Glen. "I still miss him a bit, even more when I think about Seth. That's my step-dad. Mom liked him a lot when she first met him but now she knows him better," "Why doesn't she just leave him?" Sam asked as they pulled up to a stoplight. "She really can't afford to. We're dependant on him to pay the bills, which he does, most of the time." Sam grabbed Glen's arm in a quasi-hug. "My family's kinda the same way. My parents are still married, but they don't really speak to each other. My mom's nice but my dad mostly just ignores me." "I know what you mean. Mom's nice when she's home, which isn't too often. Seth's gotten a little violent lately, which is another reason she's working, just to get away from him," "Does he ever hit you?" Sam asked. "No," Glen said. "He usually just takes out whatever's bugging him on my mom, or he'll smash something," Sam gave his arm another hug. Glen reached over and hugged Sam back, ruffling his hair a bit, and then drove on.  
  
  
  
Soon they got to the house and went inside. As usual, it was empty. They went into Glen's room and started studying. After a little while, they took a break and Glen put some music on. A saxophone started playing, accompanied by chanting voices. "It's beautiful!" said Sam. "Where's it from?" "It's from Queer as Folk," Glen replied. "The last episode of the first season, where Justin gets bashed," "Oh yeah," Sam said, remembering how he had stayed up late to watch that show after his parents had gone to bed and had cried for hours after the show was over. He felt a tear start to run down his cheek. "It's so sad," he said, his voice starting to shake a bit. "I know," said Glen. "Sometimes it really gets to me, haunts me," he said, looking into Sam's eyes. "But I try to think of it as a happy song," "That whole 'refusal to do what others are demanding if you don't think it's right' thing again?" asked Sam, another tear forming in his eye. "Exactly," said Glen. "The song demands sadness because of the scenes that it was being played to, but when I hear it now, I don't feel sad," He leaned forward and brushed the tear out of Sam's eye.  
  
Sam was beside himself at this point, the music and the way Glen was looking at him stirring his soul. He gazed into Glen's eyes, and could feel the moment they had shared at lunch returning. He heard Glen say, "I don't feel sad," felt Glen's fingers brush against his face. "How do you feel?" Sam asked, Glen's face now only inches from his.  
  
"Joyous," Glen answered, staring deeply, intently into Sam's eyes. Their minds met for a moment, and exchanged a single word, YES! And then Glen leaned forward and kissed Sam, deeply and passionately. Sam returned the kiss and let himself be overwhelmed by the sheer joy he was feeling. They held each other and held the kiss for a long time. To Glen, it seemed just like it did when he was jumping, right at the point where time seemed to stand still. He didn't notice when the door to his room opened and Seth walked in.  
  
  
  
"What the hell are you doing?" Seth shouted. Glen and Sam both looked up, terrified. Seth glared down at them, and then looked at Sam. "Boy, you have 10 seconds to get the hell out of my house!" Glen had never seen anybody move as fast as Sam did then. Sam jumped up, grabbed his backpack and ran like he had never run before in life. He tore downstairs in a panic and ran out the door, and didn't stop running for 3 whole blocks. Finally, he collapsed on the sidewalk, crying.  
  
  
  
Seth looked down at Glen. "Well, do I even need to ask? You're one of THEM, aren't you? You're a goddamn fairy, aren't you?" "Yes, I am," Glen said, scared but determined. "I should have figured. I had a suspicion from the first day I saw you," Seth roared. "Well, I'll be damned if I'm going to have some damn faggot living in my house!" "This isn't your house, and you're not my father!" Glen shouted back. The next thing he knew, he was flying backwards off the bed as Seth struck him in the face. "Get up! Get up so I can beat you properly!" Seth shouted and moved across to where Glen had fallen. Glen rose to his feet but Seth struck him again, knocking him down to his knees. Glen suddenly felt a surge of adrenaline in him and lunged forward, tackling Seth and driving him to the floor. Seth grunted, but recovered and rolled Glen underneath him and started to rain blows down on him. "I try to do your mother a favor by moving in here, and this is how you repay me, you little faggot?" Glen's face was bruised by this time, and blood was flowing from the corner of his mouth and a cut above his eye. Seth got up and started to tear apart the room, lost in his rage. Glen staggered to his feet again but Seth shoved him back into a bookshelf. Glen hit it hard and collapsed, a shower of books falling from the shelves. Seth picked up a large dictionary and held it over his head, a countenance of bestial fury on his face. Glen looked up wearily and raised his arm to try to ward off the blow. As he did, he saw the hairs on his arm stand up and felt a strange surge of power flowing through his arm. Seth drove the book down. Glen screamed and suddenly a bolt of whitish-purple energy shot from his arm and snaked around Seth. Seth was completely frozen in place, unable to move. A shell surrounded him, the same color as the energy bolt that had just come from Glen's arm. Glen looked at his hand in utter disbelief, his fingers glowing with the dissipating energy. Behind him, a glass figurine that had been on the top of the bookshelf rolled from its perch and fell, shattering on the floor behind him. Glen's sanity made the exact same sound as it tore itself to pieces. He ran from room and out of the house in shock in terror. A few moments later, the energy shell around Seth vanished, and he brought the book down, only there was nothing to strike, and he fell to the floor. 


	5. Flight

Ch 5:  
  
Inside a large room, a man in a wheelchair sat at a large computer, gazing up at the screen. He was looking at an overhead image of Bayville. His eyes were focused on one particular grid that was outlined in red. The computer had notified him moments ago of a mutant emergence in the area, and the man in the chair was studying the screen intently. In one corner of the screen, a picture of Glen's face was displayed above a read-out with his biological information; age, height, etc. and also made mention of his recently used ability: Temporal Disruption. A woman with dark skin and long, silvery hair walked up behind the man. "Cerebro's detected another one?" she asked. "Yes," replied the man in the wheelchair. "And a most unusual one at that. His name is Glen Hilliard, and it appears that he has a most unusual ability; the power to stop time," They gazed up at the screen for a few moments when suddenly the point on the screen representing Glen began to move. "Where do you suppose he's going, Professor?" asked the woman. "I don't know," replied Xavier. "I'm going to try and contact him," He placed his hands on the side of his head and closed his eyes, narrowing his brow. "Glen, can you hear me?"  
  
  
  
Glen was running through the streets of town, his mind shambles, totally oblivious to his surroundings. He had already narrowly missed being hit by traffic on 2 occasions. He was terrified; terrified that Seth had found him and Sam, and what he had done. He couldn't believe that he could be so violent, that he would want to kill him. He ran on blindly, when suddenly he heard a voice in his mind, piercing through all the fear. "Glen, can you hear me?" In his mind, Glen shrieked, and he kept running.  
  
  
  
Xavier grimaced as the shriek of horror and agony echoed in his mind. He broke his trance and looked at the woman. "Storm, get the car ready. I fear that Glen is in terrible danger. We have to find him before he gets hurt," Storm turned and walked quickly out of the room. Xavier went back into a trance, this time reaching out to Jean. "Jean, can you hear me?"  
  
  
  
Jean was sitting in the passenger seat of Scott's convertible as they drove through town. She listened to Scott say something, but her attention was broken by Xavier's mental transmission. "Yes, Professor. I can hear you. What is it?"  
  
"Cerebro's picked up a new mutant. We need to find him quickly. He may be in danger. His name is Glen Hilliard."  
  
"Glen?" Jean thought to herself. That name sounded vaguely familiar.  
  
"Is Scott with you?"  
  
"Yes Professor, he's here."  
  
"Scott, it's Professor Xavier," Xavier quickly told Scott everything he had just relayed to Jean. "He looks like he's a few blocks away from your location. You must hurry!"  
  
Scott looked at Jean. "Can you pick him up at all?"  
  
Jean closed her eyes and began to concentrate. "I'm not sure. Wait, I'm getting something," She shivered as she realized what she was sensing.  
  
"What is it? What's wrong?" asked Scott, worried.  
  
"Fear. He's scared out of his mind!" said Jean. "Turn left, there!"  
  
Scott yanked hard on the wheel as the car slid around the corner and took off in a cloud of dust.  
  
  
  
Sam had never felt more wretched in his life. In the space of a day, he had found somebody who he cared deeply about, and who cared about him just as much. They had been on the verge of bliss, when suddenly it had been torn apart. Sam had never seen that much rage in somebody's face in his life. He had run out of the house and hadn't stopped for several minutes. Now he walked through the streets of town, dejected. "What will his step-dad do to him, he wondered. Will he be all right? Will I ever see him again?" He so wanted to see Glen again, if nothing else than for the assurance that he was unharmed. As he approached an intersection, he looked up to see several things at once. First, he saw a red convertible up the street with two teens, a boy and a girl in it. They were driving fast, like they were trying desperately to get somewhere. They also were looking around, like they were trying to find somebody. He thought he recognized the girl as the one that Glen had pointed out to him at lunch. "I wonder who they're looking for so badly," he wondered. Looking the other way, he saw somebody, a boy, running like Sam had run a little while ago. Looking closer, Sam could make out bruises and a trickle of blood on his face. "Oh my god! That's him!" Sam realized in horror. He looked a little past Glen, and saw a large truck was heading straight towards the intersection that Glen was running to. Sam thought that Glen would stop for the truck but saw Glen just keep going, straight into the path of the oncoming truck. "Glen!!!" he cried out.  
  
  
  
Scott and Jean were almost frantic in their search for Glen. "He's very close, Scott," Jean said. "What does he look like?" Scott asked her. "About 5'9, curly hair. Remember, the guy from last year, who, well, you know…" Scott blushed a bit, the memory coming back to him of how the boy had had a crush on him last year. He was a little embarrassed when he had found out, and had confronted the boy. In retrospect, he had probably been too harsh in telling him that he wasn't interested. He contemplated how the fact that the boy was a mutant could affect things with him and Jean. "What if he starts living at the Institute? What if he's still got a crush on me?" Jean jarred him out of his thoughts. "Scott, there he is!" Scott looked where Jean was pointing, and saw the oncoming truck as well. He hit the gas, desperate to get to Glen before the truck did.  
  
  
  
Glen was nearly exhausted from running. He felt like his lungs were about to collapse. He ran past a storefront and approached an intersection. As he stepped out into the street, his foot caught on the curb and he went sprawling. He heard a loud noise, a horn, followed by a screeching of brakes. He looked up to see a massive truck bearing down on him. He lay there, terrified, unable to move, the truck coming closer and closer. He again felt a funny feeling running through his arms, the same thing he had felt in his house. The truck blew its horn again, and Glen placed his arms over his head and waited for the end to come. The last thing he saw was a bright flash of whitish-purple light, and then blackness. 


	6. Light

Ch. 6  
  
Sam watched in horror as the truck bore down on Glen. He heard the driver blow his horn, heard the squeal of brakes. He turned away, praying he would not hear the sound the truck made when it hit his friend.  
  
  
  
Scott floored it and made a beeline for the intersection, hoping to perhaps get in front of the truck, or that maybe Jean could get close enough to use her powers to move Glen out of the way, or to stop the truck, or to do… something. Anything would be preferable to seeing this new mutant run down before he could even be made aware of who he was. The truck was now just a few feet away from Glen, coming closer and closer, now 15 feet away, now 10 feet, now 5. And then suddenly, there was a flash of whitish-purple light, and Glen was gone.  
  
  
  
Blackness. Glen could see nothing but blackness. The last thing he had remembered seeing was the flash of light, and then darkness. "Am I dead?" he wondered. He did not remember feeling any impact, just the flash. He realized that he was still covering his head. He opened his arms and looked up to see a world gone mad.  
  
  
  
Everything he could see was glowing, engulfed by a whitish-purple shroud. The buildings, the people on the sidewalk, even the sky was the same color. There was the truck, stopped mere inches in front of him, small wisps of color flickering off its surface. Glen saw streaks of color flashing across the sky like lightning. It was like the ultimate fantasy world. "I AM dead, and this must be the afterlife. So why does it look so much like the real world?" Just then something slowly glided past his ear. He turned and saw some small white ball wafting towards him. He turned back to see similar balls gliding through the air, drifting towards a nearby alley. Not fully comprehending, he got to his feet and followed them.  
  
  
  
Scott and Jean both saw the flash of light, and when it faded, they could see that Glen was no longer there. "He must have used his powers," Jean said. "Do you think he teleported somewhere?" Scott asked. "I don't know," replied Jean. "I can still feel a faint trace of his presence. It leads into that alley there," Scott quickly parked the car on the side of the road, and they got out and ran to the alley.  
  
  
  
Sam forced himself to look up, to accept the inevitable. He looked toward the intersection, expecting to see Glen's body lying in the street. Instead, he saw nothing. No sign of Glen, no body, not a thing. "Could he have dodged that truck somehow?" he wondered. He saw two people running towards the truck, and saw them keep running until they got to an alley. "Is that where he is?" he asked himself. He followed behind them, discreetly.  
  
  
  
Glen entered the alley, following the trail of lights. Inside the alley, he found a large column of swirling lights, similar to the ones that he had followed here. He gazed at it, curiously. He could feel it pulling him in, somehow. Cautiously, he reached out with his hand and touched the column. As soon as he did, he felt himself go ice-cold as several of the lights broke out of the column and snaked up around his arm and spread around the rest of his body.  
  
  
  
"This is where his trail leads," Jean said to Scott. "I don't see anybody here," Scott said. "Are you sure he's here," "I know it doesn't make sense, Scott, but he IS here. I can feel it," She reached out on a different mental wavelength. "Professor, it's Jean. We've found Glen, but there's something wrong. He was about to get hit by a truck, and he just, well, vanished out of thin air! We've tracked him into an alley nearby. We can't see him but I KNOW he's still here somehow,"  
  
  
  
In his car, Professor Xavier heard Jean's message. "Stay where you are, Jean. We're almost there. I think I have an explanation for what you're sensing. Glen has the power to phase objects in and out of time. When he saw the truck coming, he may have phased himself out of time. Even though he IS in the alley, you can't see him because he's in a different time as you and Scott. Ah, I can see Scott's car. I'll be right there and we'll see what we can do for Mr. Hilliard,"  
  
  
  
"Ok, I think I can explain what's going on," Jean said to Scott. As she opened her mouth to relate the Professor's account, they heard another voice behind them. "Hey, are you guys looking for Glen?" They turned to see a boy with black hair behind them, looking at them curiously. "Hey, you're Jean!" said the boy. "You're the girl he was telling me about, the one who helped him. Which makes you…" he said, eying Scott. Scott rolled his eyes, the realization of what the boy was saying started to set in. Jean quickly fired off another mental message to Xavier. "Professor, we may have another problem," 


	7. Return

Ch 7  
  
Warning: Mild Scott-bashing Ahead  
  
Glen struggled to shake off the lights that swarmed around his body like bees. Despite his efforts, they continued to cover him. He could feel himself getting more and more exhausted as he struggled. At one point, he was completely covered in the lights from the neck down, and he felt himself going light-headed. He saw the sky around him start to change, real colors bleeding into the electric atmosphere. He also caught a glance of 3 shapes at the opening of the alley, but he was unable to make out any further details. He franticly shook the lights off again, and the colors faded away, the sky resuming its prior purple hue. The lights, defeated, began to circle above him, and he heard them giving off a low, faint humming noise. He collapsed to his knees, out of breath from struggling against the lights and still trying to figure out what was going on.  
  
  
  
"Who are you," asked Jean.  
  
"I'm Sam. I'm Glen's friend," Sam said. "Why are you looking for him?"  
  
"He's, um," Scott stammered, unsure what to say. Jean picked up. "We saw him almost get by that truck, and we saw him run over here,"  
  
"So he DID make it!" Sam yelled in joy. "But where is he now? I don't see him anywhere,"  
  
At that moment, a car pulled up alongside the three. Sam saw the woman, a tall, dark-skinned woman with white hair, get out, and walk to the other side of the car and open the door. A man in a wheelchair rolled out from the vehicle. Scott and Jean ran up to him.  
  
"Professor, at last!" said Scott. "This is as far as we've been able to follow him. He's vanished or something. Maybe that's his power, he can turn himself invisible,"  
  
"I don't think that's the case, Scott. Cerebro described Glen's powers as temporal in nature,"  
  
"Temporal? You mean time travel and stuff?" asked Scott.  
  
"Essentially, but not quite as extensive as you make it out. Now Jean, you had mentioned another problem?"  
  
"Yes Professor. We've been seen." Jean said, nodding towards Sam.  
  
  
  
Glen saw 2 more figures join the 3 he had seen earlier. Still gasping for air, he tried to rise, to go towards them. The lights, which had been hovering idly above him, suddenly swarmed around him again, their humming increasing to a higher pitch. As they did, the figures Glen was seeing became more in focus for a split second. It was just long enough for him to recognize one face in the crowd.  
  
  
  
"What should we do about him?" asked Scott.  
  
"The safest thing might be to just ask him to go home," said Storm.  
  
"He said he was Glen's friend, and he recognized me. Maybe we should let him stay. I think he and Glen are, well, close," said Jean.  
  
"Agreed," said Xavier. "Right now our priority lies with rescuing Glen. We can decide what to do with this boy afterwards,"  
  
  
  
Sam looked back towards the alley while the other 4 were talking. For a moment, he saw nothing. Then, as he looked closer, he saw a faint image of a person , a very familiar person. "Glen?" The figure looked up at him, as if he had heard him. Sam could just barely make out small objects flickering around Glen's body that looked almost like fireflies. "Glen!" Sam shouted. The others looked up from their huddle. "Look, it's him!" Sam shouted, pointing at the alley. He looked back, but Glen was gone again.  
  
  
  
"I don't think I saw anything," Scott said.  
  
"I did, for a split second," said Jean.  
  
"Jean, we must reach out to him," said Xavier. "Focus your mind," They both closed their eyes and began concentrating. 'Glen, hear us,"  
  
Glen heard 2 voices cutting through the whine of the lights, a man's and a girl's. "Glen, hear us," "I hear you!" he yelled back. "What's happening to me?"  
  
"I heard him, Professor," said Jean.  
  
"So did I, Jean. Keep focusing!" replied Xavier. "Glen, focus on the sound of our voices. Try and block everything else out,"  
  
  
  
Glen tried to make himself relax, to focus on the voices he was hearing. As he did, the lights increased their attacks. "I can't! There's too many of them!"  
  
"Glen, you MUST focus on us! Ignore the lights and listen to the sound of our voices!"  
  
"I can't! These things are, nnghh, hurting me!" Glen groaned.  
  
"We can't keep this up," said Xavier. "If this goes on much longer, we could lose him!"  
  
Sam heard what they were saying, although he couldn't fully grasp the meaning of the words. But he understood the phrase, "lose him" fully enough. He felt another tear well up in his eyes. Could Glen have avoided death moments ago only to be lost to some unknown force? "Glen!" he screamed out, desperately.  
  
  
  
Glen had backed himself to a corner, trying to get away from the lights. He didn't care about what the voices he had heard were saying, he just wanted to keep the lights off of him.  
  
"Glen!" A new voice cut through the noise, one he recognized instantly. Glen strained to focus on the voice, and it resounded again, louder this time. "GLEN!" Glen took a tentative step forward. "Sam!" he cried out. He took another step, ignoring the lights as they swarmed in again, screaming.  
  
  
  
"There! I see him!" Sam shouted again. This time, the entire group could see Glen's faint image in the alley, the lights swarming around him. "Glen, please come back to us!" Sam cried out.  
  
  
  
Glen heard Sam's plea, thinking back to the kiss they had shared earlier, how much joy he had felt in that one moment. He recalled the song that had been playing, the choir with the saxophone playing in the background. He could almost hear its haunting strains again. He longed to be able to experience that moment again, just one more time. A wave of determination rippled through his body. "I don't care what these lights do to me," he thought. "I'm going to see Sam one more time!" He steeled himself, and then took off in a run. The lights took off after him, and this time they swarmed over every inch of his body. Glen shouted, feeling them closing in on him, seeing the world go very bright one more time. And then he was through.  
  
  
  
"Look, here he comes!" cried Sam. They watched as Glen ran towards them, his image growing fuller and brighter with each stride he took. There was another flash of light, and suddenly Glen was there in front of them. He staggered forward and collapsed onto the sidewalk, a few wisps of light and color emanating from his body.  
  
  
  
Sam ran up to his friend's side, throwing his arms around his body. "Glen, please get up!" The others joined him. "Please, move back and let us examine him," said Xavier. Sam grudgingly moved aside but stayed where he could see Glen. "Is he ok?" "He is still alive, and unhurt except for a few bruises," said Xavier.  
  
"What was happening to him?" asked Sam.  
  
"Yeah, what WAS happening to me in there?" They turned to see that Glen was sitting up now.  
  
  
  
"First, allow me to introduce myself," said Xavier. "I am Professor Charles Xavier, and this is my associate, Ororo Munroe," he said, indicating the woman with the white hair. "I believe you already know Scott and Jean. As for what has just happened, I think it would be better if you come with us to my Institute. I can better explain it there,"  
  
"What about me?" said Sam. "Can I come too?"  
  
Xavier and the others exchanged awkward glances. "That may not be the best idea,"  
  
"No, let him come along, please," said Glen. "He's my friend. Whatever you have to say to me, you can say it to the both of us,"  
  
"Very well," said Xavier after a pause. "First, we're going to get you some medical attention. You look like you've seen quite a bit of trouble,"  
  
"You don't know the half of it," muttered Glen. He took Sam's hand and rose to his feet, and the 6 of them walked back to the car. Sam and Glen walked hand in hand the whole way.  
  
  
  
As they rode back, Xavier glanced back at Glen and Sam, who were sitting in the back of the car. They held each other in a firm embrace, their foreheads touching. Glen had reassured Sam that he was all right, despite the beating he had received from his stepfather and the subsequent ordeal he had just endured. They held each other in silence as the car drove on.  
  
"What are we going to do about the other boy?" asked Scott. "Should we risk telling him?"  
  
"We may not have a choice in the matter," replied Xavier. "Their friendship could make them inseparable,"  
  
"They're more than friends, Professor," said Scott, not wanting to say the word "gay".  
  
"Yes, Scott, I can see that, whether you wish to say it out loud or not. They're obviously very close," he said, throwing another glance at the two boys sitting in the back of the car. "In the end, I think we can trust the both of them. Now, what about you?"  
  
"What about me, Professor?" Scott said, taken aback.  
  
"You clearly have some hesitance towards Glen," said Xavier. "Did something happen between you in the past?"  
  
"Well, I found out something," Scott said, beginning to blush. "I found out that he had a crush on me last year,"  
  
"I see," said Xavier. "Well, I can understand your internalized homophobia, Scott. But you must realize that that episode is in the past, and that Glen needs our help, YOUR help, here and now. I know that Glen's homosexuality may make you uncomfortable, but it's something you're going to have to accept. I think that having him as one of us can help you work out your own feelings,"  
  
"Maybe you're right," said Scott, looking at the two boys uncertainly. He felt Jean playfully elbow him in the ribs.  
  
"And if nothing else, it should definitely help with your fashion sense. And your dancing," Jean said with a smirk on her face.  
  
"WHAT?"  
  
Jean swore that if Scott hadn't been wearing his red glasses at that moment, she would have been able to see his eyes pop out of his head. 


	8. Explanations

Ch 8  
  
Glen's stay in the Institute's medical bay had been surprisingly short. Jean and Xavier cleaned his wounds and gave him an injection for the swelling around his face. He could already feel the pain beginning to subside barely after the needle had broken his skin. "What was that stuff?" he asked.  
  
"Just a little something we've worked up," said Xavier. "You might be surprised at the number of minor accidents we treat in here," He brought out another syringe and drew a few drops of blood from Glen's arm.  
  
"You still haven't told me what 'here' really is," said Glen.  
  
Xavier gave the syringe to Jean, who took it over to a machine on the side of the room. She depressed the syringe, forcing the blood out onto a tray, which slid into a slot in the machine.  
  
"Yes, and I'll do that now," he said. "But first, I must ask something from you, Sam. The nature of this Institute is very sensitive. For our own safety, I must ask you not to reveal anything that you are about to see and hear. If our work and our lives here were to become public, there could be serious repercussions, not only for us, but also for Glen, and the other people here that you haven't seen. The others have had their reservations about telling you this, but your friend claims that you can be trusted, and I am inclined to agree with his judgment. Can we count on you?"  
  
"I promise, Professor. I won't say anything," said Sam.  
  
"I'm glad to hear that," said Xavier. "Now, take a look at the screen up there," One of the panels on the wall went blank, and a picture of a double- stranded DNA helix appeared. "This is a strand of human DNA," said Xavier. The image shrunk as the bottom half of the screen shrunk to show a chromosome display. "And these are all of the chromosomes that are found in a person's genes," The screen went blank, and another helix appeared. "And this is your DNA," said Xavier. He pointed to a segment in the middle of the helix. "Look at these strands here in the middle,"  
  
"They look different somehow," said Glen.  
  
"Indeed they are," replied Xavier, and brought up the first DNA picture again. "Look at how there are some extra pieces in your DNA that are missing from the first strand," He brought up the chromosome picture again. On the bottom were Glen's chromosomes. "Look at that one there," Xavier said, pointing to an extra chromosome that was formed in the shape of an X.  
  
"So I have an extra chromosome," said Glen. "What does it mean,"  
  
"It means, Glen, that you are one of a very few special people on this planet. You have something we call the 'X-gene'. It means that you are a mutant,"  
  
  
  
"A mutant? You mean one of those guys in the comic books with super-powers, who runs around in yellow spandex?"  
  
Scott grinned a bit. He had heard that before.  
  
"Not exactly. We're certainly not super-heroes. But the people here do have unique powers and abilities. Myself, Scott, Jean, and Ororo all have the same extra gene, as do the other people here, who you'll meet later if you choose to stay with us," said Xavier. "Here at the Institute, we try to help people manage their powers and still live healthy lives, as well as provide a safe haven for mutants who may be struggling with life's challenges, or who have no place else to turn to,"  
  
  
  
Glen looked down glumly when he heard those words. "That's exactly how I feel now," he said. "My step-dad almost killed me when he found me and Sam together, and he didn't know I was a mutant! I don't think this is something you'll be able to help him cope with,"  
  
"What about your mother, Glen?" asked Jean. "You told me a while ago that she was a pretty accepting woman,"  
  
"She is, and I think she'd manage to deal with this," Glen replied. "It'll be like coming out to her all over again,"  
  
Sam spoke up. "How did your mom react when she found out?"  
  
"She didn't say anything. She just hugged me, really hard. I think I can still feel the bruises!" Glen said, smiling. "After hearing that, I think she'll accept me no matter what I tell her about me," His eyes suddenly went wide. "Oh no! She's probably home by now!" Glen could just imagine the look on his mother's face when she saw his ransacked room. What would Seth do when she got home? "Look, I'd love to hear more about all this, but I have to get home, right now! If Seth's still around when my mom gets home, there could be trouble,"  
  
"We can go with you," said Xavier. "Perhaps I can help explain your situation to your mother,"  
  
"That'd be good, but we should worry about getting there before anything bad happens first," said Glen. They all raced back out to the limo, and were off.  
  
  
  
After a short drive, the limo pulled up at Glen's house. "Do you want us to come with you?" asked Xavier. "That might be a good idea. If Seth's mad, we could need the Marines to keep him down. But I think I should go in first. If he sees all of you, he could REALLY freak out!"  
  
"As you wish. We'll stay out of sight, but we'll be there if you need us," said Xavier. They all got out of the car and followed Glen up to the front door.  
  
"Are you sure you'll be all right?" asked Sam. "The last time, he nearly…" He didn't want to finish.  
  
"I know. But this time, I'll have backup. And I'm sure the Professor's got some more of that magic potion to use," He turned to the door. It was open, and he could hear shouting inside. He pulled the handle and walked inside.  
  
  
  
He saw Seth and his mother, Helen, in the living room. Seth had her backed into a corner and was yelling at her. Glen could see that despite her tears, her face was free of any bruises. That meant that Seth hadn't hit her. Yet.  
  
  
  
"You knew about this all the time, didn't you! That the boy was a goddamn faggot! Did you think you could just keep this a secret? Did you think I wouldn't find out?"  
  
"Seth, please don't yell at me!" Helen said, trying not to cry. "Yes, Glen is gay, but why should that matter?"  
  
"You know damn well why that matters! You know what those kind of people are like, what they do, what sort of diseases they have! They should be drug out into the street and beaten to death like the animals they are!"  
  
"Seth, don't say those things!"  
  
"Shut up, woman!" Seth roared. His hand flashed out and struck her across the face. "Don't think I'm going to let him come anywhere near this place again! If he even shows his face around here again, I'll…"  
  
"You'll what?!" yelled Glen.  
  
Seth spun around to face Glen. "Well, look who came flying back in! The little fairy herself! Come here, girl. That's all you are now, you faggot, just a little girl," He raised up his hand to strike, but Glen anticipated the blow and easily dodged it.  
  
"It's one thing if you hit me," Glen growled. "But NOBODY hits my mom!" He sprang forward and struck Seth across the face.  
  
Seth's head rolled back from the blow. He shook it off and felt a bit of blood at the corner of his mouth. He looked at Glen with an eerie look in his eyes. "So, the little girl thinks she can fight. Thinks she can be a man," he said, grinning perversely.  
  
"I'm more of a man than you'll ever be!" Glen yelled, his eyes furrowed.  
  
Seth roared and rushed forward at Glen. "I hope this works," Glen thought. He extended his arm, feeling the rush of energy surge forward again. A bolt of energy shot out from his fingertips, and Seth was again frozen in place.  
  
"Glen?" his mother said, nervously. "What's happening?"  
  
"Um, mom, I have something ELSE to tell you," 


	9. Chapter 9

Ch 9  
  
The others had been watching the fight from the doorway. When Scott saw Seth begin to charge at Glen, he raised his hand to his glasses, ready to send out an optic blast. He felt a hand on his shoulder. He saw Jean, shaking her head. "Scott, I think Glen can handle this," said Xavier. Scott looked back into the house, and saw Glen freeze Seth in place. His hand went back down to his side, at ease.  
Glen called out to the porch, "Professor, you can come in now!"  
  
He turned back to his mother. "Mom, it's ok. Really,"  
  
At that point, Xavier and the others entered the room. "Allow me to explain, Mrs. Hilliard. I am Charles Xavier,"  
  
"Yes, I've heard a little about your Institute. For gifted students," said Helen.  
  
"Well, Mrs. Hilliard, my Institute isn't exactly a school. It's a home for people who have very unique talents, people like your son Glen. You see, Glen is a mutant," Xavier said.  
  
Helen looked over at Seth, still frozen. "Is he. did you?"  
  
"No mom, he's not dead. He's just frozen, stuck in time,"  
  
"He'll recover, shortly," said Xavier.  
  
"Maybe, but he won't recover from what I'm going to do to him," said Helen.  
At that moment, Sam and the others ran in. "Glen, is everything all right?" Sam asked him.  
  
"Yes, Sam. I think everything will be fine," Glen said. The two hugged.  
  
"Glen, who's your friend?" asked Helen.  
  
"His name's Sam, Mom," said Glen. Sam smiled. "Hi!" he said.  
  
"Mom, the Professor has this place, the Institute, where he teaches people to control their powers. I think he wants me to go live there for a while,"  
  
"You would certainly be able to visit him whenever you wanted too," said Xavier.  
  
"Well, I must admit that this doesn't come as that much of a surprise to me. I've known that Glen was different since he was young. I imagine he could suddenly sprout a pair of wings and I wouldn't blink an eye,"  
  
They all laughed at this, but they heard a roar cut above the laughter. Glen's power had worn off, and Seth resumed his charge. "Look out!" cried Sam.  
Seth bore down on Glen, but before he could strike, a crimson bolt of energy flashed across the room and struck him squarely in the back, knocking him to the floor. On the other side of the room, Scott calmly replaced his glasses.  
Helen knelt down in front of Seth. "Now you listen to me, you monster! Get out of my house now, before I call the police and have you arrested!" Seth looked up and glared at her. For a moment, Glen thought he was going to try something, to inflict one last measure of cruelty. Instead, Seth stood up, cast a scowl at everybody in the room, and slunk out the door. "Buncha goddamn freaks," he grumbled under his breath.  
Scott watched him go out the door. When he heard what Seth said, he took aim and gave him another blast, square in the butt. Seth leaped 5 feet in the air and took off running down the street.  
  
"Sorry," Scott said. "My glasses must have slipped," Once again the house was filled with laughter. 


	10. Chapter 10

Ch 11  
  
They all went back out to the limo. "Well, now that he's gone, I guess I won't be able to afford this place," said Helen.  
  
"I think I can provide accommodations for now," said Xavier. "And I'm certain that I can help you find a new residence. For now, you're welcome to come back to the Institute while your son settles in,"  
  
They all climbed into the limo, and they drove off.  
It was late at night when they returned to the Institute. "Sam, shouldn't you be getting home?" asked Xavier.  
  
Sam turned his eyes down. "I really don't have a place to go," he said. "My mom's away doing government work, and my dad's almost never at home. Do you think I could stay here, just for tonight?"  
  
"I suppose that would be acceptable. And it'll be good for Glen to have another familiar face while he's settling in," replied Xavier.  
  
"Yay!"  
Glen had showered, said goodnight to his mother and to Sam, and went into his room. He lay down on his bed and nodded off, exhausted from the day's events.  
  
As he slept, he dreamed. He found himself standing in the streets again, at the same intersection where he had vanished earlier in the day. He heard a chanting sound, and a saxophone playing. He smiled as he recognized the melody, but suddenly the music began to warp, changing keys and distorting in volume. The sky began to turn different shades of color, the music growing louder and more dissonant. Suddenly the music stopped, and the sky locked into a purple color. He felt something on his shoulder. He looked and saw a hand, sitting there, disembodied. The hand clasped around his throat, trying to throttle him. He grabbed the hand and flung it to the ground, and gave it a kick for good measure. It scuttled away, then sat up on its severed wrist, middle finger extended high. It then snapped its fingers, and Glen heard a harsh droning noise. He looked up to see a swarm of fists flying at him. The fists pummeled him from all directions. He tried to escape, but they hounded him relentlessly, raining down blows. He finally managed to get clear of the fists by rounding a corner. He looked across the street and saw Sam being attacked by a strange looking creature. It looked like a giant serpent with arms and a human head. As he looked closer, he could make out the face on the serpent. It was the face of Lance Alvers. The creature hissed, exposing giant fangs inside its Lance head. Sam shrieked as the fangs pierced his throat. "Sam!" Glen yelled and rushed into the street, hoping he could somehow save his friend. He had scarcely set foot into the street when he heard a horn go off. He looked and saw a truck driving towards him, heard the revving of the engine as it accelerated. He could make out the driver in the cab; it was Seth, a look of sheer manic fury on his face. Glen raised his arm to freeze the truck in place. He felt no surge of energy. He again raised his arm, but nothing happened, as the truck got closer. The horn, the hissing, and Sam's cries of pain all blended into one, and Glen added his own scream to the clamor as the truck hit him.  
  
"AHHHH!" Glen yelled, sitting up in his bed. He looked around the dark room. The moon cast a thin ray of light into the room. "Just a dream," he muttered to himself, shaking his head, trying to dislodge the images he had just seen.  
  
The door opened, and Glen looked up to see Sam. "I heard you screaming! Are you all right?" Sam asked.  
  
"Yeah, just a bad dream," said Glen. "Come in,"  
  
Sam walked into the room and sat down on the bed. "So how does it feel? I mean, having this power now?"  
  
"I don't know. I haven't really been able to do much with it yet," Glen replied.  
  
"I suppose it'll take some getting used to," said Sam.  
  
"Yeah. I guess now I'm a REAL freak," Glen mused.  
  
Sam looked at him, puzzled. "Why do you say that? Why should you think you're any different now? You told me that you felt like you were coming out all over again, right?"  
  
"Yeah," said Glen.  
  
"And you said that being gay was no reason to be ashamed. Well, why do you think you should be ashamed of this?"  
  
"You're right," Glen admitted. "But how do you feel about all of this?"  
  
"Oh, it sounded a little strange when the Professor explained it, but it doesn't change the way I really feel. About you, I mean,"  
  
Glen looked at him and grinned. "I knew I liked you!" he said, and leaned forward and kissed Sam on the lips. Sam kissed him back. After a few moments, Glen broke off. "This time, let's make it last," he said. He kissed Sam again, deeply. As he did, a stream of lights began to swirl around the two, and they vanished.  
  
They were gone for a very long time. When they returned to the bedroom, it was still dark. It had been just a moment since they left.  
  
"That was fantastic," said Sam, wide-eyed in amazement.  
  
"I know," said Glen. "I think I may get to like being a mutant,"  
  
They collapsed back on the bed and fell asleep lovingly in each other's arms. 


End file.
